Honda IndyCar reliability questions are a real concern leading to the Indy 500

The race may come down to Honda's speed vs. Chevrolet's dependability

By
Matt Weaver

May 26, 2017

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Honda’s reliability questions leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday are not going away and the answers may not be fully explored until after a full 200 laps.

That was one of the major talking points on Thursday during Media Day for the 101st Memorial Day classic. On one hand, Honda has shown the most speed this month, taking the pole with Scott Dixon and six of the top nine spots in qualifying. On the other, it has endured several high-profile engine failures or mechanical problems, leaving HPD drivers somewhat on guard leading up to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Sebastien Bourdais and Charlie Kimball were both eliminated from the Grand Prix of Indianapolis due to engine failures. Graham Rahal and teammate Oriol Servia also had problems during the week-long build-up to the race.

Then, during qualifying, Fernando Alonso needed an engine change before turning his four laps in time trials. James Hinchcliffe was the latest to suffer a failure during Carb Day practice. This isn’t a problem that anyone should dismiss. Other notable Honda drivers include Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan and reigning Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi.

Even though he’s on the pole and satisfied with the speed of his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Dixon admits that he has some natural nervousness just days before the biggest race of the year.

"It's definitely a concern, I think for anyone," Dixon said. "It's not a short race so it’s hard on reliability with the constant high RPMs so I'm sure it's on everyone's minds."

If Dixon was politically measured about the topic, 2014 Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay was fairly blunt in his assessment of what Honda faces over 500 miles.

"Oh yeah, it's concern," Hunter-Reay said. "It's always a concern. In 2014 when I was leading that race, you start to hear everything. You start to think every little sound is a vibration or your drive train eating itself a part and that's only going to get worse as you get closer and closer to the end of the race.

"We've had some electrical gremlins this year and others have had outright engine failures. It's always one thing or the other. 500 miles at Indy will always test the cars and hopefully we can get through and make it to the end. It's something I worry about for sure."

Honda’s concern is potentially a Chevrolet advantage.

Even though Chevrolet is behind on straightaway speed, they’ve had no such reliability questions. In fact, Team Penske officials have said that they’re optimistic about closing the gap to Honda powered team with enhancements that have arrived in time for race weekend. But keep in mind also that any changes made for Sunday are locked-in for the remainder of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season according to the technical regulations.

Penske veteran Will Power says Chevrolet reliability is a significant advantage.

"They’ve had their fair share of reliability issues here and during the season," he said. "They have us on speed, we have more coming with Chevy but we have good reliability. We're going to make the most of what we have and see how it plays out."

His American teammate, Josef Newgarden agrees.

"Sure, I think the Hondas seem to lack some durability to a degree," Newgarden said. "How that plays out during the race, I don't know. I hope they're not too reliable. I think with Chevrolet, I feel like we have a real reliable package that's been consistent so we know what we've got."

So if the narrative of the month continues, the race for the Borg Warner Trophy may come down to the speed of Honda versus the durability and a believed fuel mileage to Chevrolet. With respect to Honda, Newgarden is hoping for attrition to

"As for Honda, if they have an incident that knocks out a couple of cars, that's not a bad thing."

"I think Honda has done a great job," he said. "This is the circuit I think we thought we'd be best matched for. This and the other superspeedways. This is about what we expected but we haven't gotten to the race yet, so we can't take anything for granted. That's because we've seen other manufacturers over the years bring some pretty big changes for the race."

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